News

Saying a lot happened in the world of comics this past week is a gross understatement. Between MoCCA Fest in the east, WonderCon in the west, the poor performance of the Ghost In The Shell live action remake, and the reports coming out of the Marvel Retailer Summit, I could have column fodder well into May. I’ll try to touch on a few of the points that are important to me.

For starters, I wasn’t at WonderCon, but you should read about it here.

Let’s start with MoCCA then. I wrote about MoCCA last year as well. For those not in the know, MoCCA stands for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. It’s a festival that’s been going on here for the past fifteen years, celebrating the indie side of comics as well as illustration, fine art, and creative innovation. This year featured big name guests including David Lloyd,...

So there I was, standing in…no, make that sitting in for Jules Feiffer at MoCCA, a two-day long expo-type event sponsored by the Museum of Comic Art and held at the big armory on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. Talk about your bait-and-switch…folks come expecting to see and hear one of our era’s defining and multifaceted talents, a man who has done exemplary work in cartoons, playwriting, screen writing – an innovator and astute observer of manners and morals, a social commentator…This is the giant they anticipated and instead they got…me. Sitting, not standing, on a platform with Peter Kuper, Gabrielle Bell and Paul Levitz. talking about comics and the counterculture. It’s a big and pretty complex topic and Jules Feiffer – the real Jules Feiffer – might have done it justice. Me – not so much. Though the kind of comics I’ve been professionally involved in were...

Gabrielle Bell has announced The Voyeurs. The Cecil and Jordan in New York creator unveiled her forthcoming anthology on her blog. "The Voyeurs collects 160... fully coloured pages of the best episodes from the award-winning series Lucky," reads the solicitation, "including 30 previously unpublished pages, all meticulously edited to create a graphic narrative greater than the sum of its parts." The book is (more)...

Wow, this is a long list this week. Enjoy!

Is Australia the most conservative country in the world right now? Luke Buckmaster of The Age newspaper reports that the illegal screening of Bruce Labruce’s gay horror movie L.A. Zombie at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival went off without any arrests. But Buckmaster was so thoroughly disgusted by the movie, he’s practically advocating for the censorship of it. What the hell did he think he was going to go see? Or maybe England is gunning for the Most Conservative Country Award. Electric Sheep reports on Srdjan Spasojevic’s controversial A Serbian Movie being pulled from FrightFest after British censors demanded almost four minutes of edits. While the film has, and will, screen freely here in the U.S. at festivals, who knows what the MPAA would say if the film were released here theatrically? The Australian Film Reviews...

Super and the Crimson Bolt, nuggets of facts from Guillermo del Toro, and comic treats from Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg and Eva Mendes, all at the second day of Comic-Con

In pictures: the sights of Comic-Con, day 2

The concept, look and tone of Super, a new superhero movie which had its presentation at Comic-Con, reminded me of something but I can't think what. See if it rings any bells for you. It's about an ordinary shlub (Rainn Wilson, aka Dwight from the Us version of The Office) who decides to become a superhero called Crimson Bolt, complete with crummy homemade costume. He fights back against the neighbourhood crooks, drug dealers and miscreants; he has no powers, but he does have some ordinary household tools and a cute but humorously foul-mouthed teenage sidekick (Juno's Ellen Page).

Sounds like a kick-ass idea, right? Judging from the excerpt screened here, in which...

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Are you going to Comic-Con in San Diego? Don't miss these panels about chicks in sci-fi, horror, and fantasy.

Thursday, July 22

1:00-2:00 Spotlight on Charlaine Harris— Author and Comic-Con special guest Charlaine Harris gathered a huge fan base with her novels and stories featuring her characters mystery-solving librarian Aurora Teagarden; Shakespeare, Arkansas resident Lily Bard; and the telepathic barmaid who befriends vampires, werewolves, and various other odd creatures, Sookie Stackhouse. Once Sookie and company moved to the small screen with HBO's True Blood, Harris entered the superstar realm. Be a part of the very first Spotlight panel devoted to Charlaine and hear what she has to say about what comes next for Sookie and everyone else! Room 6Bcf

3:00-4:00 Spotlight on Jenette Kahn— For 27 years Comic-Con special guest Jenette Kahn steered the course for DC Comics as its president and publisher, the...

Hey Gang! Comic-Con International has unveiled the full schedule for Saturday July 24th! If you thought Thursday and Friday were insanely awesome and crazy, wait until you see what's planned for Saturday! There is a ton of great stuff going on that you're going to want to see! We've got all Marvel film panel with Thor, Captain America and The Avengers. There's also Green Lantern, Cowboys & Aliens, Sucker Punch, Harry Potter, Paul, and a ton of other great stuff! And if you aren't able to make it out to Comic-Con this year don't worry we got your back, and will be covering everything we possibly can. I've highlighted all the events we hope to cover. If you're going to comic-con we will be having a little meet up. The details for that will be revealed soon. Now check out the full schedule below and start planning out your Comic-Con geekdom.

Hey Gang! Comic-Con International has released the full schedule for Friday July 23rd and its another full day crazy awesomeness!

Friday is traditionally known as Star Wars day at the convention. This year feature 6 Special Programs featuring official news, announcements and more from the Star Wars universe. There is also the classic march of the Stormtroopers which is always cool.

I honestly don't know how were going to cover everything we want to, but we will find away! We did it last year! I've hilighted all of the events and panels that we are looking forward to seeing. So check out the full schedule below and start planning out your epic Friday at Comic-Con!

Friday, July 23

Last changed: Fri, Jul 9, 11:26am

10:00-11:00 DC Talent Search 2— DC's editorial art director Mark Chiarello presents an informative orientation session that will explain how DC's Talent Search works and discuss the different needs of DC Universe,...

Today and tomorrow, you and your loved ones can have a mighty good time at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art's annual festival! This year's festivities include an amazing array of panels and programs to tickle the fancy of plenty of comic, sci-fi, and cartoon fans alike. With a gaggle of exhibitors, and professionals there to sign all your ebay-able wares, there's plenty for you to do! Highlights include:

Saturday, April 10th

11:30 Am Titans of Comics: Living Cartooning Legends with Al Jaffee, Arnold Roth, Gahan Wilson and Danny Fingeroth!

2:00 Pm The Art of the Superhero: When Singular Vision Meets Popular Mythology with Paul Pope, Jaime Hernandez, Frank Miller, Kyle Baker and Dean Haspiel!

5:15 Pm The MoCCA Live Strip Show: Actors Perform Indie Funnies Featuring the art of: R. Sikoryak, Michael Kupperman, Kim Deitch, Gabrielle Bell, and Emily Flake with the voice talents of Sam Seder, Sara Benincasa and Jon Glaser!